Barnsley 2-0 Hull City

Barnsley 'till I die! we play them again.

Which may be quite a while if things go as planned. Barnsley's lunge to clear the relegation zone sets up next Saturday's battle by proxy for the final automatic promotion spot in the Championship Division.

In a nutshell, Hull City must equal or top Watford's result next Saturday as they lie a mere point ahead of the Hornets and would lose a push on goal difference.

Hull meets league champs Cardiff City; Watford play the Leeds United. Both clubs are at home.

Exciting, no?

Leicester City 1-2 Watford 23-8-14 77 pts

Watford pulls within a point of Hull City for the final automatic promotion spot today with its no-holds-barred effort over Leicester. Back-to-back goals by Troy Deeney and Nathaniel Chalobah put the Hornets up 2-0 as the half which they had dominated came to a close.

A Harry Kane header and ten men forward as Leicester fights for the last playoff spot availed them not and Watford has done all they can going into the last match. Hull travels to Barnsley tomorrow and can clinch with a win.

Watford's final match of the regular season comes next Saturday, May 4 at Vicarage Road vs Leeds United. Kickoff is at 9:00 am when we will all shout . . .

Go 'Orns!!!

Leicester City Match Today

Now as a matter of fact.

I missed the fixture change as this match is being televised in the U.K. Apologies.

Watford 4-0 Blackburn Rovers 22-8-14 74 pts.

I caught the first (boring) half of this match, but was on the road for the score-fest in the second half. Enjoy the summary by those hacks at BBC instead by clicking on the title.

The three points leave Watford four points short of automatic promotion with two matches left. Hull needs one win in their last two matches to push the Hornets into the playoffs - a good chance away at Barnsley this Saturday, less so against Cardiff, who clinched the title Saturday, on the final day.

Watford's last match will be at Vicarage Road against Leeds United. Meanwhile, the Hornets travel to Leicester, themselves fighting to reach the playoff zone, Saturday, April 27. Kickoff is 9:00 an St. Louis time.

Millwall 1-0 Watford 21-8-14 71 pts

Despite dominating the match in every other category, failing in the most important one has left the Hornets six points behind with three matches left to play.

Two battered sides squared off this Tuesday, Millwall recovering from their FA Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Wigan two days prior, and Watford reeling from their 3-2 Peterbrough loss Saturday.

Watford kept the upper hand at The Den until the last ten minutes when a James Henry shot rebounded off Manuel Almunia to be sunk by Shaun Batt for the match's only goal.

At this rate, Watford is staggering into the playoffs, the first leg of which is scheduled for the 9th-10th of May (technically, Nottingham Forest can bump them off if they win all three of their matches and Watford loses theirs).

But first they have to get through Blackburn this Saturday. Kickoff at Vicarage Road is 9:00 am St. Louis time.

Peterbrough United 3-2 Watford 21-8-13 71 pts

A truly ugly match Saturday that was nowhere near as close as the 3-2 scoreline indicated. Watford's hopes for a clear path to automatic promotion were dashed by The (lowly) Posh as the loss put them six points off second place with but four matches left.

Danny Swanson left Manuel Almunia with no chance to put Peterbrough up at the half-hour mark and Dwight Gayle doubled the score at minute 61. Marco Cassetti got himself sent off six minutes later hauling down Gayle and set up a goal-scoring free kick by Lee Tomlin at 67 minutes to make the spread 3-0.

Two late goals by Mark Yeates and Fernando Forestierri salvaged Hornet pride but no points.

The first of the remaining four matches is tomorrow at Millwall. Kickoff is 1:45 pm St. Louis time.

Watford nil-nil Cardiff City 21-8-12 71 pts

Malky Mackay made it the second ex-Hornet manager in a row to visit Vicarage Road as the Bluebirds, on their way to their first top-flight appearance in 51 years, battled Watford to a nil-nil draw.

Malky brought a full complement of former 'orns, Tommy Smith, Jordan Mutch & Andrew Taylor all seeing service.

Sloppy defending and a number of fouls for the first half hour let Cardiff challenge the Hornets with set pieces, but it was Watford that troubled keeper David Marshall for the last hour of the match. In the end, both Marshall and Manuel Almunia in his first match back from injury, kept clean sheets.

The draw helped Cardiff, marking time at the top of table, five points ahead of Hull City with six matches to go, including a game in hand. On the other hand, Hull stretched its lead over Watford for the second automatic promotion slot by two points with a 1-0 win over Middlesborough.

Watford's next match of five left is at Peterborough United Saturday, April 13. Kickoff is 9:00 am St. Louis time.

Hull City 0-1 Watford 21-7-12 70 points

Troy Deeney's goal five minutes ahead of halftime drew the Hornets within one point of Hull City in the battle for the second automatic promotion berth.

The home side controlled the first ten minutes, but Watford turned the tide midway through the first half, culminating with team captain Deeney's sixteenth goal of the season into the top corner of the net.

The Tigers tested Jonathan Bond with a point-blank shot from George Boyd in added time and three shots on goal in the first ten minutes of the second half. Watford maintained for the rest of the match despite Steve Bruce throwing three forwards at them in the last fifteen minutes.

The win, which saw Lloyd Doyley's 400th appearance as a Hornet, leaves Watford in a clear third place as they host league-leader Cardiff City this Saturday, April 6. Kick off is 11:20 am St. Louis time.